Become sociopathically overconfident. ESCAPE FROM GENERICASee how boldly I guess about what readers like and dislike? I’m preposterously full of myself when I’m writing. Where would Norman Mailer or Gore Vidal be without their massive egos? They’d be slouching around the house, writing self-doubting but vague letters to the rabbit. As Frances McDormand’s character said in “Almost Famous,” “Be bold, and mighty forces will come to your aid.”